1988 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage

SKU #96611198 points
Vinous

One of my favorite wines of the night, the 1988 Hermitage is simply breathtaking in its beauty and profoundness. Sage, rosemary, sweet tobacco and dried flowers are some of the many notes that lift from the glass in a translucent, weightless, yet wonderfully deep wine. May I have another glass, please? Wow... (AG)
(5/2014)

95 points
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

And lastly, the 1988 Hermitage is an elegant, perfumed and mineral-laced effort that’s drinking at point. Giving up plenty of sweet cherry and red currants, leather, crushed rock and hints of green olive, it has no hard edges, solid mid-palate richness and a focused finish. It’s a mature, elegant and classy Hermitage to drink over the coming 4-5 years. (JD)
(8/2014)

94 points
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

Good youthful deep red. Perfumed, multifaceted aromas of crystallized black cherry, cassis, gibier and smoke. Fruity and precise in the mouth, with amazingly youthful dark berry flavors and terrific purity and thrust. Really razor-sharp, with more intensity than sheer size. Finishes with firm but suave tannins and terrific cut. This has the balance and stylishness of best 1988 red Burgundies. (ST)
(7/1999)

92 points
John Gilman

Back in Gérard Chave’s day at the head of this historic family estate, there could be a bit of bottle variation with the Hermitage here, and while one was almost always guaranteed a very good bottle of Hermitage, there were different cuvées floating around in each vintage and some were 'more equal than others.' I have had the good fortune to drink up almost my entire case of the 1988 over the years with great pleasure, but this particular bottle was from a friend’s cellar and most likely from a different batch than my box of the wine that I bought back on its release in the early 1990s. This bottle was a touch reductive out of the blocks and never quite shook this completely over the course of the hour or two that we drank it, which kept the nose a touch reserved, despite the palate absolutely singing. The bouquet on this particular bottle is deep and black fruity in profile, offering up scents of cassis, stony soil tones, bonfire, pepper, grilled meats and a topnote of balsam bough. On the palate the wine is very deep and full-bodied, with plenty of stuffing in the mid-palate, fine soil signature, moderate tannins and a long, tangy and complex finish. The wine from my case is more generous and red fruity today that this particular bottle. With this example, I would still let it sit in the cellar for a handful more years and see if it starts to truly blossom. (Drink between 2021-2050) 92+?
(5/2017)

Product Reviews:

Additional Information:

Varietal:

Shiraz/Syrah

- One of France's noblest black grape varieties, Syrah is known for its intense and distinctive perfume reminiscent of briar fruit, tar, spice and black pepper and its firm structure. One of few black grape varietals frequently vinified on its own, the best examples of Syrah come from the Northern Rhône, particularly Hermitage, but also Côte-Rôtie, Cornas, Crozes-Hermitage and St-Joseph. These wines are very astringent in their youth, though some Crozes-Hermitage and St-Joseph can be enjoyed young, relatively speaking. Given the requisite patience, though, these wines can reveal amazing complexity and secondary fruit characteristics like plum and blackcurrant as well as subtle hints of smoke and flowers. In the Southern Rhône, Syrah is used to add structure and complexity to wines dominated by Grenache and complemented by Mourvèdre, like the more immediately drinkable Côte du Rhônes, as well as the long-lived wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. In recent years, plantings of Syrah have spread throughout the Languedoc-Roussillon where it is produced on its own or blended with other varietals. Outside of France, the most important Syrah growing country is easily Australia, where it is called Shiraz. Quality levels here depend greatly on yields and geography, and the wines range from bold, fruity and easy-drinking to intense and ageable, like the famed Penfolds Grange. Often bottled on its own, in Australia Syrah is also can be blended with Grenache and Mourvèdre, as in the Southern Rhône, and is increasingly combined with Cabernet Sauvignon. Syrah has also been steadily increasing in popularity in California, thanks to a group of advocates called the Rhône Rangers. Its most successful iterations come from the Central and Sonoma Coasts, where winemakers are pushing boundaries and creating some incredible wines. In recent years Syrah has also found a number of proponents in Washington State, which is definitely a region to watch for this variety.

Country:

France

- When it comes to wine, France stands alone. No other country can beat it in terms of quality and diversity. And while many of its Region, Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne most obviously, produce wine as rare, as sought-after and nearly as expensive as gold, there are just as many obscurities and values to be had from little known appellations throughout the country. To learn everything there is to know about French wine would take a lifetime. To understand and appreciate French wine, one only has to begin tasting them.

Sub-Region:

Rhone

- Legendary wine-producing region in southeast France. Stereotypically speaking, Rhone wines are high in alcohol, and the majority produced is red. The northern Rhone is best known for outstanding 100% Syrah wines from areas such as Cote Rotie and Hermitage, as well as for fabulous white wines from Condrieu (where Viognier is king). In the southern Rhone, look for spicy, full-bodied wines that are blends of Grenache, Syrah, and other varietals coming from appellations such as Chateauneuf du Pape, Gigondas, or Rasteau. Wines labeled as Cote du Rhone or Cotes du Rhone Village (a cut above generic Cotes du Rhone) are frequently found here in the US because they often represent some of the best values on the market.